TCNJ Pushes Past Rowan Down the Stretch, 77-72
Thursday, February 13, 2025
Taz Cantey and Tyrese Myrick scored 17 points apiece as the Rowan duo combined to shoot 13-for-19 from the field. Brycen Williams scored 14 and Khalif Meares had 12 points and four steals in the loss.
Rowan led for over 16 minutes of the second half, with its last lead, 72-71, coming on a dunk by Dan Mason at 1:51. Matthew Solomon's layup with 1:38 to play pushed TCNJ ahead for good, 73-72. Koch hit two free throws to up TCNJ's lead to 75-72, Jack Vreeswyk provided the final points and sealed the win with a jumper at :06, while Rowan missed its final five shots of the game.
TCNJ (18-5; 11-5), came out strong in the second half, using a 10-2 run in the first four minutes to cut Rowan's 10-point lead to 42-40. The Profs maintained the lead and went up by as much as 52-44 at 12:34, but TCNJ went on a 12-2 run to take its first lead of the game, 56-54 with 9:13 remaining.
Rowan answered by scoring eight in a row, with six from Myrick, to regain the lead, 62-56, at 7:22. A three by Jonathan Okocha at 4:31 cut TCNJ's deficit to 68-66 and after a basket by Cantey, Rowan still led, 70-66. But a three-pointer by Vreeswyk and free throws from Koch pushed TCNJ ahead, 71-70, at 2:36 and the visitors held on from there.
The Profs opened the game making 10 of their first 17 shots to build up a 26-15 lead. They led, 37-30, at halftime as they limited the Lions to just 31 percent (13-for-41) shooting. Cantey scored 11 points in the first half as he made 5-of-7 shots while Myrick had nine points, hitting 4-of-5 field goals.
Koch finished with a game-high 30 points for TCNJ, which won its fourth straight.
Rowan plays its final regular-season home game on Saturday when the Profs host Rutgers-Newark on "Senior Day", with a 3 p.m. tip-off.